Pessary



' let.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

LORENZ F. yBIESMEYER, OF WESTPHLIA, 'MISSOURL PESSARY.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 604,958, dated May 31, 1898;

Application filed January 4, 1898.

T0 @ZZ whom it may concern,.-

Be it known that I, LORENZ F. BIESMEYER, a citizen of the United States,residing at Westphalia, in the county of Osage and State of Missouri, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Pessaries and I do here? by declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as Will enable others skilled in the to which it appertains to make and use the name.

This invention relates to a uterine-supporting pessary; and it consists,'essentially, of a device of this character constructed to receive and hold in desired position the os uteri without the use of holding devices now commonly employed'to retain the pessaryin place.

Heretofore pessaries have been provided with various forms of holding or retaining devices-such, for example, as belts, rings, and iniiatable structures. Pessaries employing a belt-and-tubing attachment are exceptionally troublesome because of the expense incurred in continuous procurement and substitution of new tubes, and also the inconvenience of adjustment and personal aggravation of a belt upon the person of the wearer, and, further, if the belts are, not properly iitted they will slip up'over the umbilicus and press the intestine'sfdow'nwardly on the womb. l The ring is detrimental, if not positively dan gerous,to the patient because of the inability to remove it at'will and also in View of the difficulties encountered in obtaining a proper and comfortable fitting, owing to the variation of form in 'different individuals. The inflatable pessarie'ls, of all others, arethe least satisfactory, for the reason that the airbag will become brittle and crack or leak and be rendered unfit fotl use. They also prevent the uterine and vaginal secretions from escaping, as they o clude every space of out- Further, a str ng pressure is brought to bear against the rectum and bladder by their use and constipation and a frequent desire to urinate ensue, as the bladder will not be permitted to freel,l expand. Where certain affections are present in the patient, an inflated body would be contracted' and also be of very little service. The greatest inconvenience probably arises from the resistance offered to insert a bag or ungainly body into the vaginal canal. The inconveniences Serial No. 665 ,520 (No model.)

of the use of devices heretofore employed have been intensilied by the deleterious affections established-su ch as hysteria,melan 5 5 cholia, and a fear of failure in consummating the marital relationship.

The object of the present invention is to overcome the disadvantages and inconveniences arising from the use of pessaries as 6o heretofore constructed and provide means for holding such device in place, as well as arranging it for easy insertion in and withdraWal from the vagina. I,

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is 65 a perspective view of a pessary embodying the invention and showing the Wings in position. Fig. 2 is a similar Viewv of the improved pessary, showing the wings in fold ed position. Fig. 3 is a transverse vertical section of the 7o device. Fig. 4L is a detail view of a different form o f cup.

Referring to the drawings, wherein similar numerals of reference are employed to indicate corresponding parts in the several views, 75 the numeral l designates a holloW stem, and

in the upper end, as shown in Figs. l, 2, and

3, is removably secured the ordinary cup 2, having small aperturesl 3 therein to permit the secretions which may accumulate in the 8o uterus or around the os uteri to escape and follow the course of the stem to the outlet. The cups will vary in .size and also in contour, and in Fig. 4 is shown ai cup for use in anteversions and retroversions. The stem will 8 5 also be made in different lengths. In view of this interchangeable arrangement of the parts of the device, which may be manufactured in kits or nests and placed in portable cases, a physician after making the prelimi- 9o nary examination can easily accommodate the physical structure of the patient and also the irregularity of the part to be treated.

The tubular stem l has a transverse mor- Y tise or opening l near its upper end, in which 95 are pivotally mounted the reduced elbowshaped Shanks 5 of lateral Wings 6. The Shanks are cut away on adjacent sides at 7 to adapt them to pass one another without catching and lie across the opening through roo the stem for engagement by a head 8, carried on the upper end of a divided plunger-rod comprising a lower screw-threaded portion 10, having a shouldered head 1.1 at its lower end.

Said screw-threaded portion of the head adj ustably engages a companion screw-threaded surface at the lower portion of the interior of the stem and terminates in a reduced portion l2, surrounded by the lower end of a sprial spring 9, which at its upper end surrounds and engages the pendent portion of the divided rod fast on the plunger-head 8. By this arrangement of the divided plunger-rod, in connection with the spiral spring interposed between the parts thereof, by the adjustment of the portion 10 the tension of the spring upon the shanks 5 of the wings G can be increased or diminished at will or entirely removed from said shanks for permitting the wings to fold up under the cup. 'lhe head ll of the divided plunger-rod is so formed that it maybe readily grasped and turned for regulating the adjustment of the wings as desired.

The wings 6 are dished or formed with concave upper surfaces and convex lower ones, and the edges are rounded and sufficiently thick to avoid injury or excoriation of the walls of the vaginal canal, with which they engage. Furthermore, to materially facilitate the holding qualifications of said wings the greatest extent of each is in a plane at a right angle to the plane of lateral projection from the stem. The wings also have a yielding movement when set through the medium of the yielding plunger and injury or shock to the womb is thereby prevented.

The device is applied while the patient is in a full reclining or horizontal position and' may be inserted by the patient herself. Vhen applying the improved pessary the setter is in suoli position as to permit the wings to fold closely against the stem. An entrance into the vaginal canal is then effected, and after properly positioning the cup the head l1 is turned to bring the upper end of the plunger S against the shanks of the wings and cause the latter to open and lodge against the adjacent parts. The said wings are of such contour as to conform to the rim of the pelvis and the ligaments. Thus the cup will be held in engagement with the os uteri. The pessary can be readily removed by relieving the inner end of the setter from contact with shanks of the wings, and by slightly drawing on the outer end of the stem or head of the rod the wings will close against the stem and permit an easy withdrawal. The shape of the head ll is such thatit will indicate when turned in one direction the position of the wings and thereby avoid painful injury by attempts to withdraw the pessary before the wings are released.

The improved pessaries will be preferably constructed of hard rubber and the several interchangeable parts arranged conveniently in cases or surgeons kits.

Many advantages of the improved device will appear to those using the same aside from those enumerated, and it is obviously apparent that changes in the minor details of construction and arrangement of the parts might be made and substituted for those shown and described without in the least departing from the nature or Spirit of the invention.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed as new is- 1. In a pessary, the combination of atubular stem, a cup removably mounted on the upper end thereof, wings extending laterally from said stem and having shanks extending into the latter, and a spring-supported plunger externally operated through said stem for adjusting the wings, substantially as described.

2. A pessary having a stem, a cup removably mounted on the upper end thereof, a pair of wings pivoted to said stem below the cup, a yielding plunger, a divided plungerrod, a spring interposed between the parts of said rod, and means for adjusting the tension of said spring, substantially as described.

A pessary comprising a tubular stem, a cup removably connected with the upper end thereof, wings pivoted in a transverse opening in said stem and provided with hollow extensions or shanks adapted to pass by each other, a spring-actuated plunger acting upon said Shanks, and means for adjusting the tension of said spring, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

LORENZ F. BIESMEYER.

Vitnesses:

BEN. SCHAEFER, JOHN II. LUncKENi-iorr. 

